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November 21, 2006
A Thanksgiving Reverie on the Fork in the Road
I want to comment on this week's article in the Holmes Report by Paul Holmes, titled “Anti-Social: Is Public Relations Messing Up in the Blogosphere” and a companion piece written by Jeff Jarvis in Buzzmachine 12 days ago titled "PR and the New Architecture of Information." Both Holmes and Jarvis contend that the public relations profession has an important new opportunity to establish a dialogue with stakeholders directly based on credible information. Both of these wise observers are concerned about the seeming inability of PR people to perform in this expanded role. Holmes concludes that PR people “are in danger of becoming pariahs in the social media realm.” There is a paradox: clients recognize PR’s unique abilities in this dispersed, democratic, multi-stakeholder communications environment, but there is a nascent rebellion in the blogosphere rejecting PR-spawned material as invasive and inherently false.
We are now at the fork in the road, where we will be able to say that we moved forward after an awkward start in our rookie year on the field, or can look back wistfully at what might have been.
Our clients must participate in social media. There is no intelligent strategy in corporate reputation that suggests leaving the field to those who would put a company in an entirely negative context. In the marketing arena, brands can harness the enthusiasm and expertise of avid consumers, while engaging passionate advocates on issues of social importance. For instance, GE used a blog to showcase innovative technologies that were on display at the recent NextFest technology festival, which it had sponsored.
There is a way forward for PR people in the world of social media. It is credible advocacy, a phrase that stems from a recent conversation with David Weinberger. We have to move beyond a position of agent or broker. We are now responsible for the quality of the information and the integrity of the vehicle, because our content may be going directly to audiences, as well as through the filter of independent media. We should offer access to data on both sides of an issue. Content needs to be real. Authenticity and attribution are expected.
What does this mean in practice? Paid spokespeople in marketing, such as the women in the Dove Real Beauty campaign, can participate credibly in social media only if it is entirely clear that their work is sponsored by a client and that their comments are not edited by the client or PR firm. Corporate spokespeople, whether agency or internal, should identify themselves, their interest in an issue and their funding source.
Much has been achieved in the past year by PR people in social media. Our own agency has made bloggers an important aspect of launch campaigns for XBOX 360 and for Nissan’s new trucks, listening to their critiques, helping them gain equal access to possible stories. We have worked with companies such as GE, to persuade them to have top researchers blog on environmental and scientific advances. We have created social media programs for Axe and Trojan. We need to promote these success stories as part of our continuing effort to educate our colleagues and academia about best practices. We’ve also committed to showcasing best practices with such organizations as the ANA and WOMMA to ensure that all social media participants are aware of the rules of engagement.
Last night, in helping my teenage daughter prepare for her history quiz today, I read an excerpt from philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract. He says, “The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone and remain as free as before. This is the fundamental problem of which the Social Contract provides the solution…Each man, in giving himself to all, gives himself to nobody. . .” In he blogosphere, we must rely on the integrity and intelligence of each participant who seeks truth and a better world.
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Posted by Edelman at November 21, 2006 12:17 PM
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Comments
In my law of advertising and public relations class at Kent State University, we have learned that corporate speech hasn't historically been held to the same legal standards as advertising. You said, "Corporate spokespeople should identify themselves, their interest in an issue and their funding source." Do you believe that with more companies becoming transparent, corporate speech will have more legal restrictions placed on it?
Posted by: Lauren Polly at November 26, 2006 1:14 PM
The more things change, the more they stay the same: PR needs better PR. Another way to frame the situation we find ourselves in, is derived from the remarks of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who distinguishes one's description from their definition. The history of PR and the actions of each practitioner undoubtedly describe the profession—for better or worse. But we will forever have the opportunity to define the practice of public relations in a new media horizon by respecting our new responsibilities with diligence. You have outlined those responsibilities well and defined them through citing the cases that Edelman developed for clients. Let's hope the discussion continues.
Posted by: Eric Hansen at November 26, 2006 11:25 PM
Thanks for your comment. We need to tell more stories of successful social media programs.
Posted by: Richard Edelman at November 28, 2006 8:46 AM
There is legal standard and then there is social expectation. We need to comply with both of these. Thanks
Posted by: Richard Edelman at November 28, 2006 8:47 AM
Richard - Sounds like Edleman has done some very innovative work in the space. Would you consider a couple of 'case study' posts?
By the way, minor detail but I couldn't find the link from the NextFest website to the blog. Wondered how the blog was promoted. Thanks.
Posted by: Toby at November 29, 2006 11:53 AM